Report One

The Safe and Just Cleaners study collected survey data from 402 immigrant Latinx household cleaners in NYC and Westchester between June 2019 and February 2020.

Our survey data demonstrate that most of our study participants had income levels that placed their families below the federal poverty level. Furthermore, despite working as household cleaners for an average of 16 years, the workers in our study commonly face violations of their labor and human rights including suffering discrimination, verbal abuse, wage theft and a lack of paid sick leave. Working part-time and often without any formal contractual agreement also contributes to their vulnerability to these abuses. Household cleaners surveyed use many cleaning products that contain chemicals that are potentially damaging to their health. Moreover, the demands they face to use more toxic cleaning products combined with their inability to control which products are used may further detract from their overall health and well-being. 

Household cleaners’ situations have become even more urgent since the COVID-19 pandemic. Our study findings provide support for two proposed NY State initiatives: #FundExcludedWorkers and #Coverage4All. All workers deserve to put food on the table, pay their rent, and access healthcare.